Privacy Policy

Personal Data

The Natural Sciences Collections Association (NatSCA) is committed to protecting your personal information and being transparent about what information we hold. The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to explain how we collect and use any personal information you provide to us and how we communicate with you in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2016 (PECR).

What data do we hold and why?

Membership information – When you join NatSCA we ask for basic personal information that may include your name, address, email address and telephone number. We prefer to have at least two items of contact information for members as this allows us to get in contact should there be an error in one. If you are subscribing using cheque, bank transfer or standing order we will also require basic banking information to manage the transaction. If you subscribe using electronic payment, PayPal will manage your data and share only the relevant information with us (see their Privacy Policy at paypal.com/ie/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-prev). Any information we request is required in order to provide the service that you would expect as a member of the organisation, namely:

  1. To send you either a hard copy or an electronic copy of the Journal of Natural Science Collections once a year.
  2. To circulate AGM/Seminar/workshop information via email.
  3. To inform you (by e-mail or post) when your subscription is due and if there is a change in subscription rates. Any such changes will be also be announced in the Journal and on the website.
  4. To email occasional items relevant to the focus of the organisation (see www.natsca.org/about-us ) that we think you may be interested in.
  5. To record your name as an attendee for an AGM, SGM, seminar or workshop.

Note: You can choose to stop receiving communications from NatSCA at any time by contacting the Membership Secretary (membership@natsca.org), although members should stay informed about General Meetings (Annual or Special) and should recognize that they void their constituted rights if they opt out of notices about them (for the NatSCA Constitution see natsca.org/files/NatSCA-Constitution-2016.pdf).

Events administration information – When you make a booking to attend one of our events we may ask for basic personal information such as your name, work or personal address, email address, telephone number and social media handle. We may also ask for information of a more sensitive nature, such as dietary preference and access requirements. We request this information in order to be able to verify your booking, contact you about the administration of the event and ensure that we can adequately meet your requirements on the day. If you are paying for an event using cheque, bank transfer or standing order we will also require basic banking information to manage the transaction. If you pay online, Eventbrite will manage your data and share only the relevant information with us (see their Privacy Policy at eventbrite.com/support/articles/en_US/Troubleshooting/eventbrite-privacy-policy?lg=en_US).

Collections related information – If you contributed data to FENSCORE or our map of collections Natural History Near You (www.natsca.org/NHNearYou) you had an option to include your email address for the purposes of being contacted by NatSCA in relation to the collections and organisation for which you submitted data.

What data do we share?

We never sell data and we do not share your personal information with external parties without your explicit permission. Where we do share your information, it will be in the form of:

  1. A mailing list to our printer who distributes the hard copies of the Journal.
  2. A delegate list for a meeting (only if you have indicated that you wish to be included).
  3. Your name, organisation and social media handle on a badge at an event (should you choose to provide information for that purpose).
  4. A spreadsheet of collections data to bone fide researchers, extracted from Natural History Near You, including a contact address if you have provided one in the optional data field.

How do we keep data and for how long?

Members of the NatSCA committee and our webmaster manage and have access to your information, in order to undertake their duties.

We hold paper archives, including some historic lists of the names of past members, which are securely stored in the Archives Department of the Natural History Museum, London and managed by our Archivist. Obsolete paper material is securely disposed of.

We keep your digitised information in a secure database for as long as it is relevant, namely:

  1. To manage your membership – we normally keep this information for the duration of your current membership (one year) plus an administration period of up to two years, in which we may contact you with reminders about lapsed memberships. In exceptional cases, we may retain your information for up to six years, under the statute of limitations, in order to manage unresolved financial matters.
  2. Until all of the administration associated with an event has been completed, which we would expect should be no more than one year, but which may extend to six years, under the statute of limitations, in order to manage unresolved financial matters.
  3. For collections related data we undertake digital archiving and do not intend to delete information unless requested by a bone fide representative of the collection.

Note: Should you wish to have your details removed from any of our databases before this period has elapsed for any reason, please contact our Membership Secretary (membership@natsca.org).

Any personal data you enter on our website is stored on a secure server and transmitted only over secure (HTTPS) connections. If you require any further information about the way that our website stores and uses data, please contact our webmaster (web@natsca.org).

Cookies – Our website uses cookies only where necessary. A temporary session cookie tracks the pages viewed during each visit, this expires when you leave the website. If you choose to use the “Remember Me” function on the login box, this will store a cookie containing your username and password locally on your computer. You can accept or decline cookies by changing the settings in your internet browser. If cookies are disabled, some features of the website may be affected. For further information on how to disable cookies, please see this external third-party website: www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies.

External platforms

We encourage you to take advantage of our digital communications mechanisms (JISCmail, Twitter, Facebook, and WordPress blog) to keep informed about matters of interest. Signing up to these platforms is your decision and each platform has its own policies independent of NatSCA. Our website has external links and we are not responsible for the privacy policies or practices of third party websites. We advise you to read any third-party policies and terms carefully.

Your rights

You have the right to:

  1. Request a copy of the information we hold about you (this is a Subject Access Request) and to have any inaccuracies corrected.
  2. Request deletion of your personal information.
  3. Request that we restrict our processing of your personal information.
  4. Object to our processing of your personal information.

If you should wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact our Membership Secretary (membership@natsca.org) with your request and proof of your identity (scan or post of copy passport and official correspondence with your address) and you will receive a response within 30 calendar days of your identity being verified. If you feel that NatSCA is not handling your data in a satisfactory manner you also have a right to object to the ICO (Information Commissioners Office).

You can download a PDF version of our privacy policy here.